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Monday, April 9, 2012

Fashion and The Hunger Games

There's something distinctly uncomfortable about critiquing the fashion in The Hunger Games. In the book, clothing is a marker of the role one plays in a totalitarian regime: the villians are futuristic Marie Antoinettes, with a grotesque interest in adorning themselves--we're supposed to be disgusted by them, not covet their fabulous clothes. The victims have other things to worry about than fashion, like staying alive.

So it was strange to me that some well-known voices from the fashion industry would choose to haughtily express their disdain for the movie's costumes in aNew York Times article, and to do so in a way that was completely oblivious to the politics of fashion in the film. A sampling:

The costumes “looked cheaply made,” said Joshua Jordan, a fashion
photographer who has done campaigns for Anna Sui and Neiman Marcus. “You
wanted it to bring you to an evil Thierry Mugler place, and it didn’t.
It has nothing on the fashion business.”

Olivier Van Doorne,
the head of SelectNY, a fashion advertising firm that makes commercials
for brands like Emporio Armani and Tommy Hilfiger, agreed. While he
liked the film, he said he found the outfits “ridiculous.” “ ‘Blade
Runner’ gave a vision of the future you’d never seen before,” he said.
“With this, there’s nothing new. It looks like a lot of recycling stuff
Jean Paul Gaultier had done before.”

“This is not a fashion film. It looks too cheap.”--Sally Hershberger, celebrity hairstylist

Paul Wilmot, the
public relations guru who has worked for designers like Oscar de la
Renta and Calvin Klein, simply called the film’s costumes “hideola.”
(This did not appear to be a compliment.)

"Hideola"? Can these people hear themselves? They're practically critiquing the Hunger Games fashion in the voice of the Capitol residents themselves, sniffing at the "cheaply made" outfits of the lower classes. The irony is too much to bear. Sadly, their whining points out that the world of Panem (the Hunger Games's dystopian North America) is not so far off from current North America. Can't you just see these folks in their Effie Trinket get-ups, thumbing their noses at the poor people's outfits while watching them fight each other to the death?

Not that the costumes are exempt from critique--just thoughtless critique. And I'm not suggesting that the fashion industry outsiders are blameless. Far from it. When I saw the film last week, I found myself transfixed by Katniss's blue dress that she wears at the reaping, the public drawing where two kids from each district are chosen participate in the Hunger Games.

In fact, it reminded me of a retro dress Betsey Johnson designed a few years ago. A quick online search for "Katniss blue dress reaping" shows that people have built entire Polyvore sets around this dress. There are also at least a dozen YouTube videos showing you how to achieve her braided up 'do. I too loved her dress and hair, but not without a sense of major discomfort, an icky feeling that in Panem, I would be more of an Effie than a Katniss.

Did you see the movie? What do you think of the fashion industry's reaction?

56 comments:

I fear I would be closer to Effie too. The move was wonderfully done but I felt so uneasy throughout-- wondering whether much of the rest of the world regards us/me as Panem. I loved Katniss' blue dress. The fashions in the district reminded me of the iconic photos of Walker Evans. My mother graduated from high school in 1949 and said she had two skirts and two blouses that she mixed and matched for high school. My guess is the fashion crits would have said she looked "cheap" but she looked beautiful!

I found that I liked all spectrums of the costumes, from the clothing Katniss wore (the more common stuff versus the grandeur outfits for the Games) to the people from the Capitol, they were all represented and it made it obvious where that person sat in the social hierarchy. Which I thought was the point of the "overly-fabulous" world of the Capitol versus the "trying to survive" of the people from the districts.

I haven't seen the movie yet, but I had seen some of those comments and just found them bizarre. And I found myself rather uncomfortably thinking that I sort of liked a little bit of some of the brightly-colored fancy clothes of the Capitol dwellers (though certainly not their makeup).

I also was surprised to see some nailpolish ads recently that were tie-ins with the movie--they featured different Capitol dwellers in new nail shades named for them.

One of the things I found most interesting in the book was Katniss' reaction to being styled up--the way they shaved her legs and plucked her eyebrows and decked her out in preparation for her to fight to the death for their amusement...

Basically, it sounds like these high-fashion types can't handle the critique of their industry and what it represents.

I didn't like the costume choices, but for entirely different reasons than the fashion elite. I didn't like the capitol group because I couldn't pick out a trend they were all following. In the book I got the impression that they were all a bunch of sheep chasing the next fad, but I couldn't pick the fad out of all the clothes. The more fads you have to chase the more individualism you get in people, and I would think that the capitol would want to squash that individualism even in its citizens. I imagine some big presidential think tank coming up with the next fad and ordering the designers to work on its theme. I didn't mind the cheap because it seemed the capitol dealt in volume, not quality. If you're only going to wear your clothes for a month you don't care as much if they last.

My other big problem was with the districts. We only see the Agi district for a bit, but it looks so much like District 12. One of the points of costuming is to differentiate groups of people and, especially in the second and third book, where people come from is so important you want to be able to visually identify people and their district on sight. I don't like that both districts were in blue and grey tones with the only distinguish I could see being overalls. I would imagine the capitol could color-code districts, sending only red shirts to district 7 or black-wash denim to district 12, and I wish more of that happened on screen.

My last problem was with the tributes' clothing. I liked the arena wear, but their training gear looked way to sporty. I can't imagine the capitol designing something so practical without even a bit of color or flash somewhere.

I did like a few things, though. Prim and Katniss' reaping dresses were great. I love the Avox' red outfits, they were just practical enough but still outlandishly capitol.

I was surprised Katniss's reaping dress was so simple. In the book she wears a dress that belonged to her mother, when her mother was merchant class. It wouldn't be as fancy as the capital- but it would have been nice (she knows what velvet is only because her mother has a dress with the material). To me her dress looks like "best dress" for the Seam.

I haven't seen the movie, but the screenshots tell me it is beautifully costumed.

sal, i think your comment is one of the reasons the film has become so fascinating--because it *is* dumbfounding that, for example, people would be surprised and upset that actors were cast who meet the descriptive criteria in the book. or that the fashion industry would have such thoughtless criticism of the film costumes, although the costuming did leave much to be desired.

Aurora Celeste: I actually disagree about the lack of a trend. When you look at the people from the Capitol they are all wearing the same color palette (same vibrancies and only a handful of colors). Also, the crazy wigs ( or rainbow color dyed hair for the less rich). The makeup that both men and women wore all seemed similar. So many trends there that my friend and I decided that we wanted to have a Capitol Halloween party this year.

I loved the books, and I read all three in a week. My only beef fashion-wise with the movie is how Katniss comes by the MockingJay pin. It was a symbol given to her from the Mayor's daughter, as badge of hope, and then becomes a fashion trend in the Capitol to exemplify how blind they are to what is happening outside of the Capitol. Finally, it becomes Katniss' symbol (full embodiment). It is the spark, and they make it seem so random in the movie when it wasn't at all. It makes no sense that something so important in the books would become something she just happened to find in a bin.

I've wondered what end of the spectrum I might be on. I feel that if I know that I can live without it (makeup, fancy dresses, so on) I consider myself grounded enough to know that my style does not define me. I just like shiny,colorful things.

Gertie, On Project Runway they constantly talked about department store fashion and mall fashion with disdain especial the older fat guy, Kors. They have little contact with the real world as was evident not just from the clothes they applauded but from the way they dressed. Heidi Klum trying to look 24 and the fashion editor who was such a plain woman and sour puss. much of this is the cult of the gay design world and reality TV that eulogizes unpleasant people.

I'm just getting interested in fashion, design, and sewing. I found that the outfits were one of the things I liked best. I thought that the costume directors for the Hungers Games did a brilliant job walking the line -- between obvious and subtle, between gauche and simple. The Capitol outfits were beautiful, but also overdone, while Katniss's outfits were also beautiful, but in a simpler, more human way. It highlighted the message of the movie in a great way.

It is very clear from the comments you report from the fashion industry, that none of the writers has actually read any of the books. If they had they would have understood, as you clearly do, the role of clothing as a mark of the "class" each person holds within Panem.I haven't yet seen the film. It will be so very sad if the film-makers have got the detail of how Katniss got the Mockingjay pin so badly wrong.

i don't know the book, or much of the storyline really, but when i saw the flame dress on cation design's blog i was a little shocked at how dull it was. (the movie version; hers is brilliant.)

but! more "huh?!" for me is the ad campaign. the producers were very cautious about keeping the premise of the movie out of the ads (hence peeps like me have no idea what it's about) because they thought the subject matter shouldn't be advertised.

I don't usually follow the high fashion industry, so these comments are new to me. I saw the movie with my 12 year old daughter and am now (at her insistance) reading the book. I thought the whole point of the Capitol costumes was to look cheap, gaudy and shallow. I thought they did a good job of that. I didn't analyse the film while I was watching it, but I got the idea we were not supposed to like the Capitol costumes. Those that critisize them for these very reasons missed the point of the movie.

I thought they did a horrible job translating to film from the book. No one looked like I expected them to (especially Peeta), the clothes were all wrong. Especially the lack of awesomeness I expected from Katniss' fire dress. I was underwhelmed entirely and actually disappointed since I'd been SO excited to see it. But I don't care what fashion people have to say about ANYTHING and I agree with Monica

I'd be far more impressed by comments from Broadway and Hollywood costume designers than from the "fashion industry." Theatrical costume exists on a different plane of meaning -- even in dramas that are meant to replicate a verifiable historical period. Comparing costumes for a science fiction tale set in some vague future time to actual clothing worn by actual people in the here-and-now is ludicrous. In the here-and-now, people do wear bits and bobs that borrow from the pasts. One supposes that in the near future we will continue so to do.

Having taken an intro to costume design class I have to wonder:Did the costumer choose to dress the capitol residents in gaudy, plastic-y looking clothing in part to show how transient and interchangeable they are?

I especially enjoy the comment “This is not a fashion film. It looks too cheap.” - did anyone suggest at any point that it was SUPPOSED TO BE a fashion film?

I think your critique of the fashion industry's response is very accurate. They are much more like Effie than is comfortable.

But I would suggest to anyone critiquing movie fashion that they remember costumes are more than just a way to clothe the actors. Well designed costumes are meant give subliminal messages: foreshadowing, telling viewers about the mood of the movie, and telling stories about the characters themselves. This is something the Cinna's of the world will understand as it blows right over the Effie's heads'

I haven't seen the movie yet but the images I've seen suggest that it is visually striking and I've read the books.

It is interesting to read the comments from the fashion industry. The comments seem to highlight to me the differences between "fashion" and costuming, and also imply that those commenting are stuck in the high fashion paradigm.

Costuming isn't about making everyone look "fashion forward" it's about portraying a particular group of people in a particular situation.

Declaring that outfits that are supposed to look cheap and tacky are bad because they look cheap and tacky is missing the point.

I do agree though with the comment about the reaping dress being far too plain to be a fancy dress owned by Katniss' mother in a past life - although I love the dress.

I haven't seen the movie yet (yes, yes, very slow at getting to movies) but I grew up in Appalachia and I'm always interested in how it's depicted in film, so I spent a lot of time looking at the scenes shot in Katniss's district as soon as there were screenshots. I was fascinated with how much they tried to reference the Dust Bowl; Katniss's dress and hair seem straight-up intended to reference Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother photo. I am very very interested in 1920s - 1930s history and fashion - it really seems like an era with a lot to teach us about the 1990s and 2000s. At the same time, I certainly think that there is a taste issue when it comes to using poverty as a fashion inspiration, one that it might be best to navigate with at least some attention and care.

I think the movie, for all its cartoonish depiction of inequality, hit kind of a sore point in current events, and that might be one reason why people are taking the costuming etc. so seriously. And maybe choosing to ally themselves with one character or another in the way they dress.

I saw the film yesterday and loved it, and love this post. I hadn't read these critiques on the costumes, but I find them amusing. It seems that if one is going to review film costumes, rather than just "normal fashion," one should probably do so with an understanding -- or at least, an acknowledgement -- of the clothing's purpose in the story. And this comes from someone who hasn't read the books (yet), but had no trouble getting the concept of what the costumes were portraying. Such an interesting post -- thanks! :-)

I read every single one of these comments, and I think it's wonderful that we all agree! My favorite costume in the whole movie was Cinna--he looked fabulous with that gold eyeliner.

But the best point goes to sapotesews, in my mind; the movie does hit a little close to home. Not because the actual situation is real, but because the book explores the human situation so well. It was SO REAL!!! I loved the books, and the movie wasn't exactly right, but I do believe they got the feel of it, and the clothing they used was pretty spot-on.

Disappointment in the depiction of Katniss' clothing? Some, but only because what they described in the book is a technical marvel, and there really wasn't a way to make that happen in the movie without some serious special effects, and that may have been too obvious when it came to clothing. Who knows?

I haven't seen the film yet (want to though!), but if the costumes *do* look cheaply made, I wouldn't be surprised if it was on purpose. It would underscore the fake-ness and superficiality of the upper class. These are not people that would appreciate garments with inner beauty, there will be no hand sewn pad stitching and hand sewn hems in those closets is my guess. I would think they would be all for quantity.

I've neither seen the film nor read the books but it does sound like a horror movie about the natural development of the UK class system.And I worry that films, books, video games and tv series are becoming a substitute for real life.

I've been a big fan of the books and liked the movie. The costumes for the movie were just as they were described in the book - flashy, over-the-top, garish. I think you hit the nail on the head, Gertie, when you state that the fashion industry thumbing their noses at it just like the Capitol citizens. LOL!

Ironic is exactly the right way of putting it, Gertie! Of course the people in the districts wouldn't be up to the latest fashions. They were all too busy trying to keep from starving to death. And the Capitol folks were supposed to be over the top. And that the fashion elite would make such statements just shows that they missed the entire social commentary point of the series. I agree wholeheartedly with Joni's comment--I wonder more if the world sees us Americans as the Capitol, and how close our country really has become to Panem.

(I also don't get the statements that people have made about the actress who plays Katniss being fat--she looks pretty normal to me! Does that mean "not anorexic" is the new fat?)

I have read the book and seen the film. I was surprised and relieved to see the film stay so faithful to the book. I thought the fashion aspect was handled sensitively. In the wrong hands, the ritualisation of fashion and clothes could have sent a deeply wrong message to what will be a primarily YA audience. As it is, I suspect teenagers will be able to see many of the messages that fashion critics missed..

The fashion industry's reactions to the costume are pretty much priceless. Ironic, for sure. I agree with them that this isn't meant to be a fashion movie, or impact today's fashion industry.

That said, in terms of the story, the costumes didn't disappoint me! I combined costume & setting in my head, since you've got the uber0modern, brightly coloured, somewhat sexualized Capitol denizens, and then the dirty 30's-esque District 12. I loved the visuals.

I think they're missing the point of the story -- the haves in ridiculous getups, the have-nots making those ridiculous getups and barely eating enough to live. I think the costuming in the movie is pretty spot-on in bringing that aspect of the book to life on screen.

I was very taken with the Depression-era feel to the clothes in District 12. The feel was taken from the book that these dress up items would have had to last them years, and little touches such as the sleeve trim on Mrs. Everdeen's dress, or the fact that all the kids only had one sturdy pair of shoes for work & school. I adored those elements, and felt the more disposable fashion of the Capitol was perfect and yet was far less striking to me.

I feel like the ss in District 12 were absolutely key to my feeling of what they got right visually, as was everything about Effie.

I loved katinss's dress she wore to the reaping -- and generally the look of District 12. I think the stark contrast of the simple, serviceable and sturdy clothes of the district were sharply contrast to the flamboyant, colorful and complicated -- with pleats and poofs and wild colors. I never once, while reading descriptions of the clothing of the capitol residents to be anything but cheap because it was a throw away when the next fad came along. There was nothing that screamed a need to have well made clothing -- because it doesn't have to last long.

In a way, this is a good example of how todays society is a bit like the capitol -- there is no interest lasting fabrics, or items that can be worn season after season.

Sigh, people said Katniss looked fat because she was supposed to be starving. Why do people have to look for some great skinny conspiracy everywhere. All of the District 12 main characters all looked too fat.

Gertie, I think you really make a great point and these discussions are one of the reasons I love to read your blog. But after reading the comments, so many commentators are completely missing the point! There they are, arguing about whether or not the critiques were warranted, and not about how shallow we have become as a society.

I thought the costume design was well done. I thought the costumes and neutral color choices of the people in Panem reminded me a lot of depression era clothing. I thought the Capitol costumes were very great as well. I think the over the top costumes on the Capitol dwellers show how out of touch they are with the rest of Panem.

Look other have say I can't believe how upset people have gotten over the issues of weight, race and clothing because of this film. First people say Jennifer is too fat to play Katniss. Which she is not. The people were upset because there are black people in the movie. They are in the books. Now the fashion is wrong. It's actually right.

I also agree that people are reacting this way because the film and books come too close to home.

I think it was let down because I read all the books (and am a costume designer myself) and the world and costumes I saw in the writing were very different from what was in the film.

I don't understand a lot of the source material they obviously used for this film like the dust bowl and depression era. As others have mentioned I would like to have seen the "1984" type uniform influences created by rationing and gov't control. I wish there was a more futuristic bent to the whole thing and much more technology used. In the book they have really advanced technology and if you look at designers like Hussein Chalayan you will see that textiles, fashion and technology together can create amazing things. I think they phoned it in, especially on 3 most important looks in the story (Katniss & Peta in flame jumpsuits, Katniss' flame dress and her wedding gown/mockingjay dress)

Also I hate to say but I agree with a lot of critique given from the fashion industry, I expected much more lush detail and artistry from this film. I honestly think it was just a failing on the part of the costumer and the director.

If Collins' inspiration came from channel surfing one day between a reality competition and coverage on the Iraq war, it's only appropriate that the Capitol citizens are in garish, cheap looking clothes. Because, really, they're a representation of us in the First world. We buy cheap clothing without a care of the conditions in which it was made. We follow fashion trends more closely than we follow what's happening in the rest of the world. I'm always amazed that Google News is filled with juxtapositions such as "People are Dying in Syria" and "Kim Kardashian got a Manicure."

The entire series was a commentary on our society. The fashion industry's whining only helps illustrate that Collins' inspiration and the subsequent story aren't very far apart.

Lovely Katniss dress. It's silly that all these people are being so critical about the fashion and clothes made, the acting and the story is far more important. XxxX http://thesecondhandrose.blogspot.co.uk/

I read all of the books a while ago, but haven't seen the film. I find that you're spot on in your comments about the lack of self-awareness/irony in the reactions from the fashion industry.

@Joni: Does the world see the U.S. as a kind of Panem?... Well, having lived in Europe for four years now I think I can say (at least in the countries I've lived in) that yes, people do see the U.S. as somewhat lacking in world-awareness. The U.S. has a lot of cities like the Capitol - there's a kind of geo-centricism and a perceived sense of "we should have everything we want" that sounds eerily like Capitol talk.

As for the costumes, I'm surprised by Katniss's reaping dress, but I do like it. And, am I Capitol or District? I think I may be a bit of both...

I thought Katniss' statement outfits (flame jumpsuit and flame dress) were a bit bland, but had they been more lush the entire movie would've started its descent into being just another piece of panem et circenses.

I also thought the use of the Depression-era imagery for the costumes of the Districts seen thus far was spot-on. It will be interesting to see if other Districts are interpreted other ways.

And, overall, I think the comments of the fashion critics are humorous due to their lack of self awareness.

Considering that if you've actually read the books you know what symbolic importance is placed on aesthetics, the costumes are a really important part of the movie that have obviously been skimped on. I found the costuming lazy in that this seemed to be the thought process: poor people = Great Depression, rich people = TODAY!!!!!!!, with a little bit of froufrou thrown in based on our own historical associations of wealth (Marie Antoinette and Victorians, apparently). And then the hair and makeup was nearly all contemporary. And this was supposed to depict a society whose historical memory does not in any meaningful sense reach back beyond its own founding? But their track suits look *exactly* like ours do? That is what we call lazy. And if things that are supposed to look hopelessly expensive and otherworldly look cheap to your audience, you have failed at costuming. Hopefully the fact that they've refused to pay the director as much money as he demanded for the second movie means they'll be able to hire a competent costuming and makeup team.

Look, we'd be critical if a movie about Marie Antoinette didn't have better costuming than a community theater play about Marie Antoinette, right? I'm not saying every movie should be W/E--in fact I think it's disgusting how many pieces belonging to the Duchess of Windsor they actually used in that film--but if you're going to make a film that is supposed to be about wealth and power, you should maybe worry about how you're going to visually represent that wealth & power? Have you *read* the books? Because then you'd be aware that making this movie an action romance is doing a disservice to not only the first book but especially to the sequels. I haven't seen the movie yet because I'm broke and trying to get my parents to pay, full disclosure, but the reason I didn't rush out opening weekend was to wait for word of mouth because unlike some adaptations (Harry Potter) I'm not saying, "Screw it, the visuals will be amazing, I can tell from the previews." Because the previews look like crap on a stick.

That is so weird! I mean it makes you wonder if these "critics" even saw the movie or read the books or if they're just basing their opinions on the stills they've seen on line and in commercials. I loved the artistic portrayal of the capitols outfits compared to the districts very "depression era" look. Surprisingly I have an actual vintage pattern that is almost exact to Katniss blue dress. I noticed that right off. That dress was very pretty and feminine and I don't think there is anything wrong with admitting that lol.

I haven't read the books, but I saw the movie and, being a costume designer wanna-be,I kept saying to my friend next to me, "the costuming is done so obviously!", not realising that it was in part dictated already in the book (from what I'm understanding). It made it's point: rich, flamboyant and gaudy who've lost sense of humanity and playing on our associations with aristocracy in marie antoinette's era ("let them eat cake"), opposed to the poor, close-knit, struggling and down-trodden, who realise the importance of family and friends, just like we associate with WWII. It wasn't done with any subtlety, it was just really obvious.

I really don;t know where the fashion industry gets off criticizing anybody...it is all too evident that they have lost their way and that everybody is "out of ideas". This is maily due to the fact that they must pump out 4 collections a year (I can remember when it was TWO: spring/summer and fall/winter) and all of them must be completely original and dazzling...nobody can keep up with such pressure and it's really starting to show, seriously...when socks with high heels, butt cracks and white after Labour Day is all they can find as inspiration, when things look like they were cobbled together out of the fabric scrap bin with eyes closed, it is plain that inspiration is fizzling. honestly: the most stunning clothes I see are those made by US, the sewers/sewists/call us what you will; it is a fact that we are the LAST bastion of clothing originality, beauty and grace...I hardly bother with 'fashion" anymore, it's just TOO DEPRESSING to look at page after page of ungly, gracelles, tasteless thrift shop reject-looking RAGS being fobbed off on the public as 'high couture"!

Well said Gertie! I loved the books, I loved the movie, I loved the costumes, and I loved this post. It is interesting to hear everyone's opinions. I fear the world of fashion is taken too seriously sometimes. Clothing is supposed to be fun, whether you are a Katniss or an Effie.

Hi Gertie, I found this article very interesting. http://vigilantcitizen.com/moviesandtv/the-hunger-games-a-glimpse-at-the-new-world-order/I have not read the books or seen the film. But as a designer I am interested how the fashion and pop industry are promoting very subversive messages to the younger generation. I would hope that the handmade movement is a way to inspire younger people to make things for themselves in an independent way.I think Its important that we see a hopeful future for ourselves. I live in Ireland and I find most people here emulate the United States. It is only since our economy has fallen down around our ears that people are starting to question our way of life.

pah! I have not seen the movie, but I'm sure the costumes will be great. not to make too sweeping generalizations, but the fashion people just seem like arrogant snobs. If you ask me, fashion is completely arbitrary, and most of what these people put together which is supposedly "high fashion" just looks completely ridiculous. Also these people obviously did not read the books or even pay attention to the plot lines- I guess the sole reason they go to movies is to critique the costume choices... But that's just my humble opinion....

Thank you, thank you, thank you....for maintaining your integrity as you think about fashion! Something these others can't do or never did. How can anyone critique fashion out of context? Would we love the 80's style without knowing what was driving the American bus? (Or hate it for that matter)

I have to admit that when I saw the pictures of the Capitol people and of Katniss's red dress, my first thought that Katniss's fire dress wasn't extravagant enough and that the other people of the Capitol were dressed too extravagantly but also hideously.

However, I don't feel uncomfortable when considering the outfits of the movie. I feel uncomfortable when thinking of us as Panem. When I was reading the series, I felt very much that we were seen as Panem (although I do think Panem was supposed to be more extreme). This is one of the reasons I had trouble with it - it hit too close to home. The description of bullimia, the throwing out of food, etc.

What made me most uncomfortable was that I wore Hunger Games nail polish to the movie. As I was putting it on, I realized how the book would take it: I'm one of those people who delight in the Tributes' deaths. (In truth, I could barely stomach to read the book.) As I sat next to people in line to see the movie who were all, "Peeta and Katniss together forever!" like the people of the Capitol that cheered on the death match, that was when I was uncomfortable. Even though the world is fictional, it seems far, far too real. .

Yep, totally Effie, that's me. Thing is, she is such a jerk (though she improves as the novels progress). I liked that the clothes in the Capitol in the film version were all a bit "off"-- the fact that they were not as fabulous as I had imagined them while reading was, I thought, commentary on just how NOT fabulous the Capitol truly is, regardless of what it might try to tell itself.

This week, I had a Hunger Games event at the school where I teach-- it was chosen by students as the book the whole school should read in an annual event I help to organize. All week long, I got emails telling me to dress up like Effie, images of Effie sent to me for inspiration,etc. I had planned to wear a Katniss-inspired outfit b/c I was so uncomfortable dressing up as Effie. I really wrestled with it all week long. In the end, I did go with Effie as my outfit/costume inspiration, but not without mixed feelings.

I decided not to see the film tonight, as they only had seats left in the front row (hello, neck crick? I think not!)

But two things occurred to me. Firstly, how often what fashion folk say is completely out of touch with the real world or indeed, common sense (Karl Largerfeld's Twitter feed verges on the surreal).

The second thing was the alleged saying by Coco Chanel, about how you should see the women, rather than a woman wearing a beautiful dress. If you see a costume instead of seeing the character, then surely the costume has failed? As a former film student and a lover of clothes, I've come to think that some of the most attention-grabbing clothes actually detract from attention on the story. For example, Ingrid Bergman wears beautiful clothes in 'Casablanca', but they never draw too much attention away from the main thing that a film has to do: tell a story.

I was particularly struck by the mentions of 'Blade Runner' in the Times' piece. I don't think it was intended as a 'fashion' film! And looking back at it, so many of the costumes are precisely not a vision of the future, but a prism reflecting current fashion: a 1980s version of the 1940s for Sean Young's outfits (with extra shiny bits to denote sci fi), glossy sexy 1980s punk for Daryl Hannah, and that slightly loose Armani-type cut for the male costumes, with a bit of a grungy edge.

I liked the piece in the FT that Bissy gave a link to (thanks!) - nice to have another perspective!